St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-18
FOR AMATEURS ONLY.

two servants to look after, enough
pocket-money to buy everything suitable
for the wife of bankers clerk, Il beau
tiful face, to which the brown hair,
brushed straight from the brOws, gave
a look of intelligence and purity, a COM
mOnplace husband absent all day, idle
hands and restless mind-just the
state of things perceiving which the
father of political addresses and society
limps in and suggests employment.
Daughter OF poor curate, who when
she was seventeen, joyfully married
her, almost without consulting her, to a
young man with expectations" Mar
ion bearing has spent five years of her
life without any society but that of a
somewhat unattractive husband. who,
having SOWn what wild oats he could
afford between the ages of eighteen and
twenty-SiX, settled down to matrimony
at thirty without notion that the beau
tiful child he married would ever re-
quire any excitement but that of order
ing his dinners, mending his clothes
and listening to his sage discourse when
he returned from the city in the even
ing.
Women are so different from men, of
course, and household duties must nee
essarily be more attractive to them than
any other sort of occupation. Tom
bearings mother and sisters and aunts,
at least, had always been perfectly salts
fed with the charms of the domestic
circle, and he himself at five-and-thirty
asked nothing better than to dOZe and
proze by the fire at night to beautiful
bored woman of two-and-twenty.
Rnf now tn his cJ,rnrica a,,I yavotinn
his wife had grown dull and discontinued
had left off talking, even left off listen
ing, and at last one memorable night
had electrified him by bursting into pas
siOnate entreatieS to be allowed to 'sgo
OH the stage"
Tom Deering was naturally extremely
shocked at such request. His notions
of actresses were formed from casual
acquaintanc with chorus girl in a
comic opera company whom he had met
in the country, and had taken to supper;
from anecdotes concerning the eccen-
tricities of historical tragediennes, and
from accounts in the papers headed "An
Actress in Trouble" detailing how la
dies with many aliases were taken up by
the police for driving hanson cabs with
out license and other cratic proceed
ingS.
But her husbands righteous indigna-
ton had little effect on Marion bearing;
she pinned for excitement: for employ
ment, and thought in her innocence it
was the repressed aspirations of an art
list nature that stirred her soul. She was
sure she could act extremely well if she
tried, and this belief was due to no par
ticular cOnceit. being shared by hui
manity at large. -.
She took to moping and grew limp
and listless; worse, she left off laughing
at her husbands ponderOus jestS, and
even forgot what vegetables he pre-
ferred.for dinner.
Then across the darkened domestic
horizon Shone ray of light in the sug-
gestiOn of a city friend of bearing,
man highly thought Of by the latter
from the reputation he had of ''going
into really good society,""
"Wife dull and stage-struck, and you
naturally object to her becoming an
actress said this worthy; ''why not let
her play with amateurs?"
To the question, "Was it respectable?"
Mr.. Carewe drew himself up.
1t was not only respectable-it was
fashionable. His own sister, Mrs. Car
spent all her leisure in playing for
most exclusive.
''In my club, the Macreadys, we are
in want of ladies'" Mr.. Carewe con-
tinued. 1--WE don't care to engage pro-
fessional actresses, you see-its eXpen-.
sive, and also our lady amateurs who
kindly play for us don't always care
about meeting them. Some awfully
nice girls play for US, and of course
their mothers and brothers are very
particular about the people they meet.
The Hon. Mrs. Mordaunt plays good
deal with us and Lady BurnSide-very
nice women; am sure Mrs. bearing
would like them immensely"
Under Mrs. Carington's indulgent
wing, therefore, pretty Mrs. bearing
was first introduced to the members of
the Macready club and the amateur
ladies kindly assisting them.
Hon. Mrs. Mordaunt, magnificent
looking creature, with husband ap-
parently Wandering Jew by profess
sion, from the distant and varied points
of the compass at which he was period
ically sighted; 1.-The lady who was going
to play your part has to go to ball that
night, and she couldn't think of any one
to take her place."
''SOme of the gentlemen wanted to en-
gage professional actress" said Mrs.
CaringtOn. but Pm very glad they
have not, as think it's much better to
keep out the professional element. Miss
Brownjohn's mother, for instance, would
never allow her daughter to play except
with amateurs; she is so particular. Let
me introduce you to Capt. Vernon, Mrs.
bearing"
The last-named gentleman was a fine
looking man, no longer in his first youth.
Hearing his name, he turned to
bestow long stare of insolent appro-
baton at the beautiful newcomer; he
was the lady-kiIler par excellence of the
amateur world, and very highly
esteemed among the middle-class hours
who shone therein on account of the
high connections of which he sometimes
vaguely boosted, as well as by reason of
the low morality, concerning which he
was more explicit.
He was rich, and playing at acting
aired his vanity, and gave him plentiful
opportunities for more or less risky
-fiirtatiOns with more or less rapid dam
sells and matrons. He much preferred
those performances in which profess
SlOnal actresses were not engaged.
These last were SO business
like, so matter-of-fact; they had
none of the fiattering self
conscious shyness of an amateur en-
gagged in a love scene with Capt. Yer
non. Besides, half the fun of the thing
lay i'll meeting your stage inamorata
afterward at the houses of friends, in
the park, or at the theaters, where, when
apiece they know is performed, anna
teurS are wont to cOngregate to deplore
the traces of insufficient rehearsal, the
staginess, or vulgarity of professional
performers.
Into this society pretty Mrs. bearing
was now plunged. At first she threw
herself heartily into her parts, being
filled with vague dreams of future fame
and fortune for herself and Tom when,
her genius conquering all prejudice, she
should be snapped ups by a London
manager, as, according to amateur ira
ditiOn. frequently hammered to their